What are you listening to and WHY might anyone be interested? (Vol.IX)

I'm going to see Ole Cactus Face at the Albert Hall this evening, so this, on vinyl:

Vinyl

On vinyl:-

Takes me back!!  Great album - I have a reissue somewhere on the shelves.

Been listening to Clifford Curzon (pianist) quite a bit recently (and buying s/h vinyl Curzon recordings). Great Schubert interpreter and some great vinyl around s/h on Decca SXL series and JB reissues.  Limited repertoire though - apparently Curzon was a perfectionist and would only sanction the release of what he considered his best work,

Cheers,

EJ

First play. He sounds just like...

1st listen, on vinyl...

On CD:-

192kHz/24bit release from HD tracks.

Kind of Blue is an album most have heard many times before in a wide variety of formats. Now, you can hear it as if you were right there in the recording studio with the musicians! After many years, Sony finally decided to remaster Kind of Blue hi-res at 192kHz/24bit with the brilliant engineer Mark Wilder and the dedicated and knowledgeable producer Steve Berkowtiz (who has spent more time with and knows this album better than anyone out there). The quality of sound on this recording is unparalleled—from the original sound

reels.

 

Kind of Blue Becomes Digital, by Engineer Mark Wilder

"Since the Kind of Blue mixed masters are multiple generations from the original (due to excessive play/wear), we decided to go directly to the original session reels. Not only does this put us at the original session as a starting point, but it also allows us to deal with the pitch issue as well.

The three, 3-track half-inch tapes are in good condition, but age has force them to “scallop” a little, meaning that the edges curl away from the tape head. This changed the initial focus from mixing from the originals to archiving them before mixing and working from the archive files. This allowed us to gently guide the tape against the playback head to get optimal contact and fidelity.

The archiving was done at 192kHz/24 bits, played from a modified Ampex ATR 104, and hard-wired to HDCD Model 2’s directly patched to a Lynx 2 sound card.

An upside to working from the archive files was the ability to chase the original fader moves done during the mix in 1959. We constantly compared to an early pressing - mono and stereo - and worked bar by bar to duplicate the level moves on the three tracks to match as well as possible.

Each channel was converted to analog and passed through a GML mixer, bussed to stereo or mono - depending on the release format - and converted once again to 192Kc/24 bits. At the GML, we inserted processing where needed.”

– Mark Wilder, Battery Studios

First track sums it us properly: 'Asleep in the Forest'.

I am about to give up completely on this recording. The piano has always been my favorite instrument, I love jazz as well as the ECM sound so usually it doesn't take much for me to relax and enjoy any of their discs. However, this time I am left in utter apathy to the music which sounds to me like an incidental mental exercise. Pity.

CD - © 1997 Arabesque Recordings : )

Marc Cary - piano

Terell Stafford - trumpet

Ron Blake - tenor saxophone

Yarbrough Charles Laws - flute & percussion

Billy Johnson - bass

Dion Parson - drums

Dannel Morno - percussion

Recorded at RPM Studios, NYC in August 1996

~<>~

A CD i purchased this afternoon from a local charity shop,

and £1.49 to a very good cause - fabulous music in my home

Debs

If I Could Only Remember My Name 

DAVID CROSBY (Performer), Laura Allan (Artist), Jack Casady (Artist), Jerry Garcia (Artist), Paul Kantner (Artist), Graham Nash (Artist), Neil Young (Artist), Phil Lesh (Artist), Joni Mitchell (Artist), Grace Slick (Artist), Mickey Hart (Artist) | Format: Vinyl

Another first listen...

cd rip 

Identity...Airbag...still not into the latest offering yet, prefer their firs two albums, this for me is hard to beat recording quality is top notch... 

Inspired by a post from Haim - highly enjoyable music, and Hamelin's combination of musicality and dexterity is once again breathtaking.

Cheers,

EJ

Tango Zero Hour

First 9 tracks aren't bad. If only I could find the 10th track - 24bit, 96kHz digital download. It's there somewhere but the n-serve thinks it's part of an unknown album by the band Pro Tools!!

Thanks for this Haim.  I've now listened to this twice and have been meaning to reply back to you but have been exceptionally busy lately.  What you have said here is right on the mark and I agree.  It is growing on me though and to keep it going for me just means spending a lot more time with the music.  The playing and the recording are very nice.

The one thing that you said that I find as an interesting perspective is the comment regarding faith.  I understand the time, the era, the modern school of thought here etc. and the topic but, for example, I have a hard time imagining the connection.  This is clear to me as I am still so engrained in the old school "faith" model and my expectation wants to go there.  Yes, I mean Bach and I equate Bach with the stellar example of exemplary music of this kind of motivation or devotion.  Of course there are many other fine examples too but Bach's music to me is the epitome of its kind.

Not to place any judgement on either but when I listen to Messiaen, despite its programmatic title it could be about anything as far as I can tell.  It could be about my day at work or what an ant thinks and feels before it is stepped on.  The architecture tends to that chiselled, percussive sound and atonal.  On the other hand, when I listen to Bach I have no doubt what this music is about and its motivation.  In my mind it could not be about anything else but faith.  Again, this is probably only related to my total ignorance of the music of Messiaen and will require more work on my part to understand it.

I love challenges though...

Some Reverend/Blind Gary Davis -

In Through the Out Door

Led Zeppelin | Format: Audio CD

One of the landmark albums of the 90's...

Reverend Gary Davis/Pink Anderson  - Gospel, Blues & Street Songs